Kansas is just a chalk outline after Missouri gets through

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas finally played somebody, the somebody was Missouri, and that ended all the “Rock Chalk” title talk.

It took until Nov. 24 to find out that No. 3 Missouri, not No. 2 Kansas, was probably the Big 12 Conference school you needed to throw your arms around.

Missouri dominated most of Saturday night’s eagerly awaited battle at Arrowhead Stadium, then survived a frantic fourth-quarter rally to hold off Kansas, 36-28.

After not producing a first-half point, the high-powered Kansas offense finally got powered and cut the lead to six points with a touchdown with 2:03 left.

Missouri receiver Tommy Saunders, part of the “hands” team, had to recover an onside kick to keep Tigers fans from thinking Saturday might go from the best to the worst night of their lives.

Kansas got the ball back again with 17 seconds left, but quarterback Todd Reesing was sacked for a safety and that doomed one team’s championship dreams -- while lifting another’s.

Simply plug in Missouri for Kansas as this year’s latest out-of-nowhere hope.

Missouri (11-1) is one victory over Oklahoma in next week’s Big 12 championship game from earning one of two berths in the Bowl Championship Series championship game, to be played Jan. 7 in New Orleans.

“If we’re not the No. 1 team in the country, then something’s wrong,” Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel, who completed 40 of 49 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns, said afterward.

Get this: Missouri could be No. 1. The Tigers were No. 4 in last week’s BCS standings, trailing Louisiana State, Kansas and West Virginia.

At worst, though, Missouri will rise to No. 2 today behind West Virginia and be assured of a title-game berth with a win next week.

Crazy season, huh?

The national title picture, once clear as mud, can now at least be explained in a few sentences.

If Missouri and West Virginia win next week, they will meet for the national title on Jan. 7 in the Louisiana Superdome.

Missouri plays Oklahoma in San Antonio, and West Virginia is at home against Pittsburgh.

Missouri had a 24-23 fourth-quarter lead against Oklahoma in October, in Norman, before losing, 41-31.

If Missouri or West Virginia stumbles, Ohio State probably seizes one of the two BCS title berths.

That idea seemed almost preposterous two weekends ago, when the Buckeyes dropped to No. 7 in the BCS standings after a home loss to Illinois.

But upsets suffered by Oregon, Oklahoma and, this weekend, LSU and Kansas have put Ohio State back in contention.

If West Virginia and Missouri both lose next week, Ohio State probably moves to the front of the BCS class with possibly a two-loss school -- Georgia? -- claiming the second spot.

Kansas entered the weekend with an 11-0 record, and had received more of the pregame hype. The Jayhawks, though, arrived at destiny’s stadium gate entrance with a suspect schedule that included nonconference home games against inferior opponents. Kansas also missed Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech on this year’s Big 12 schedule.

Missouri, led by Daniel, proved itself the superior “Border War” school.

“You saw it, America saw it,” Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel said of his quarterback’s performance.

Few could question Missouri’s title-game merits. The Tigers opened the season Sept. 1 with an impressive win over Illinois in St. Louis.

Missouri also defeated a Southeastern Conference team on the road -- though, granted, it was Mississippi at Oxford.

Kansas became the sixth No. 2 team to lose this year, joining the unlucky parade of USC, California, South Florida, Boston College and Oregon.

In the aftermath of LSU’s Friday loss, Kansas was on the precipice of becoming the most unlikely No. 1 team this side of Louisiana Monroe.

The cry “Why Not Kansas?” is now “Why Not Missouri?”

The 116th meeting of these border-state schools was the most anticipated in the history of an intense, but often overlooked, rivalry.

Saturday’s “epic” began with a thud, with the first four possessions producing punts, before working itself up to something close to scintillating.

Missouri jumped Kansas in the first quarter on a fourth-and-goal touchdown pass from Daniel to tight end Martin Rucker.

Kansas then drove to Missouri’s 26 on its next possession, but Reesing’s third-down pass was intercepted at the two by William Moore.

Missouri reversed field and went 98 yards in 13 plays, taking a 14-0 lead with 9:21 left in the half on an 11-yard scoring pass from Daniel to Danario Alexander.

Kansas missed two key opportunities when Scott Webb missed field-goal tries of 33 and 45 yards. The nation’s second-ranked scoring offense, averaging 48.5 points a game, was sputtering.

“It was frustrating,” Reesing said later. “What’s most frustrating is that we beat ourselves.”

Missouri took what seemed a commanding third-quarter lead, 31-14, on Jeff Wolfert’s 43-yard field goal, but Kansas made the fourth quarter interesting by scoring twice in the final 8:28.

“They made plays they needed to,” Kansas Coach Mark Mangino said. “We made plays but not enough of them.”

Missouri amassed 519 yards against what was considered one of the nation’s better defenses.

Kansas’ regular season is finished. At 11-1, though, the Jayhawks still might be in line for an at-large berth in a BCS bowl.

“I thought this team accomplished a lot -- more than any other team in the history of Kansas football,” Mangino said. “I think that’s a pretty good accomplishment right there.”

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chris.dufresne@latimes.com